National Lottery

National Lottery doubles its price

I am quite surprised that our National lottery (now renamed Lotto) has
decided to double its entry level price from £1 to £2. Although the
lottery is supposed to be a national lottery I can’t recall that the
people were asked about this increase. Was the government asked?

At present I like, millions of others, or at least hundreds of thousands
of people, have a direct debit for two single lines a week. The cost of
using the same numbers in both the Wednesday and Saturday lottery has
now been increased from £104 a year to £208!

For me the increase has meant that I will stop using the lottery. I
suppose that others will do the same. I see no benefit in the changes
that have lead to this increase.

I thought that when the lottery was first introduced it was a good idea.
For a modest sum people could win a prize and a proportion of the sales
could go to charity.

I think that one line should be kept at £1. If people want to
increase their chances they can buy more than one line. For the record I
have won several £10 prizes over the years, and would have liked more of
a chance of larger prizes, e.g. £15, £20, £25 rather than millions.

Yours Sincerely,

A. Citizen

The Prime Minister's office has referred my letter to the Department for Culture Media and Sport for them to answer
their reply is below.

Thank you for your letter of 11 September regarding the new price of
Lotto tickets.

I note your concern about the increase of the cost of a lottery ticket.
However, I should explain that it is the responsibility of an
independent regulator to approve any new game, or changes to existing
National Lottery games, before they go on sale. This decision was taken
by the National Lottery Commission (on 1 October 2013 this body merged
with the Gambling Commission). The regulator needs to be satisfied that
any game in the National Lottery portfolio is being run fairly, that
players are protected, and, subject to these considerations, that the
game will raise as much money as possible for good causes. These
decisions are rightly taken at arms-length from Government.

Regardless, the price of the National Lottery has not changed since its
inception 18 years ago. The National Lottery Commission approved the
change in price after carefully considering a request from Camelot,
following a decline in tickets sales. This decision was taken as it
seemed the most effective way of protecting the long term interests of
the National Lottery and the money it raises for good causes. Despite
the price of the main draw increasing to £2, there will continue to be a
number of options for anyone wishing to play for £1, under a variety of
prize structures.

I hope this reassures you.

Yours sincerely,
Ministerial Support Team
Department for Culture, Media and Sport

This letter does not really answer the original complaint that the price increase will deny the opportunity for people
who are unable to spend twice as much. I think they have got this wrong. We shall see what happens. As to why
people were losing interest in the lottery, The National Lottery
Commission could have considered having more lower prizes which would
increase the chance of people winning a prize.